So I just got off the phone with Mr. B, and it turns out that the shop he goes to regularly was closed for most of the day because the shop owner’s cousin has been detained. As far as I know, he still is. Shop owner’s cousin is also a guy with a PhD who works for a huge local company and has lived here for nearly 20 years.

But on the good news side, Mr. B sent his Iraqi interpreter a text (after my strong insistence for the last two days) just checking in with him, and the guy is okay. Although his interpreter seemed pretty in shock about the news, which possibly means he was busy working and didn’t hear it immediately. What sucks is that his family is in the states and he’s a contractor who travels between the two countries regularly, so who knows if he can make it back.